Dr Steve Peters, who has helped the likes of Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez excel for Liverpool after working with Team GB's cycling heroes, will be on hand in Brazil

Roy Hodgson believes the most important member of his entire World Cup team will not kick a ball in Brazil.

England boss Hodgson has drafted in psychologist Steve Peters, who has played a huge role with skipper Steven Gerrard AND Luis Suarez at Liverpool this season, to be part of his backroom staff.

And Hodgson feels Peters’ understanding of what makes players tick will prove a crucial element in ensuring his squad can keep their heads and their sanity amid the World Cup madness.

Hodgson said: “My worst fear would be that the pressure gets on top of the players, so we aren’t going to be able to get close to what I know this team could possibly produce.

“That would mean us coming away from the World Cup knowing that if we’d just been able to be a little bit more relaxed about it and freed our minds a bit more we could have done a bit better.

“I want them to play with their minds free of what’s going to be written about them the next day or what’s going to happen if they don’t get the result.

“Those are things coaches can’t control. We can do our level best to try and make certain players feel comfortable and well prepared, not under any great pressure from us because we believe in them and think they can do the job.

“But the football world is wider than just your team-mates and your coaches. There’s a lot of peer pressure, there’s pressure from family and friends and those type of things.”

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Familiar face: Peters has already worked with Steven Gerrard this season